Hey, hi, and hello, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well. It's time for another Weekly Track Roundup. My thoughts, my feelings, my opinions on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week or so. Whether I loved them or hated them or felt somewhere in between.

And finally...

The worst tracks of the week, the worst ones of the week.

We have a couple. They are as follows.

This new one from legendary, veteran internet alternative RnB singer and artist corbin, who has really been trying to mount a bit of a comeback as of late, but I don't think this new material, "Carbon Monoxide" is the name of the single, is really going to make it happen, especially given how much of a stylistic switch up it is into almost like a weird post-punk thing. And on top of it, the vocals are really not that great. In my opinion, at a loss with the vocal quality on this one, sadly. But I suppose it is what it is.

Moving on from there, we have a new one from Ava Max, "Lost Your Faith", which per usual from Ava Max, it is the most painfully bland, unimaginative, and generic pop music out there. I suppose the only thing that is slightly novel about it is that it sounds like if Sheryl Crow were doing an '80s rock song with a lot of sheen and reverb on it, I suppose. But that's not that interesting of a combination.

We have the tracks I was met on, on the fence with.

Not crazy about personally, but you might like them more than me. They are as follows.

We have a new one over here from Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Seem to be building up to another instrumental, experimental jam type record. This band usually dabbles in pop and psychedelic pop and lofi, indie, that thing. But they've come up with a release along these lines before. Again, it seems like they're headed back in that direction with our first taste of the record, "Earth 1", which is like a bit of a low-key jazz fusion jam with a lot of key improvisation. It's not too bad. It's not blowing me away, but it's cool to hear the project switched up every once in a while in this way.

We have a new one from Tommy Richman over here where it seems like after a full-length record that was a mixed bag in terms of its reception, he is really going back to basics. You have those old-school Southern hip hop beats, the falsetto delivery, the very chill flows. Just cool guy vibes all around, not a stupendous song or anything like that, but there's an aura about it for sure that's undeniable that I think continues to keep people attracted to Tommy Richman and his music. Again, "Acting Up" is the name of the track if I did not say

All right, we have Xaviersobased crossing over with Sematary on a new track. I didn't really think such a collaboration was possible, but now that it's happened, I was like, Okay, that actually makes sense. Does it all sound like noise to me when all is said and done? A little bit, yeah. I don't really know what to say beyond that. But there's definitely some chaos. There's some energy for sure, even if the song isn't really all that standout. It's explosive, you could say.

We have a new one from Ichiko Aoba, Japanese singer, songwriter, whose new ballad "Sonar" over here is much quieter and much more piano-driven than I feel like is typical for a lot of her tracks. I think it's okay. I'm not blown away by it necessarily. I think it's passable. I don't think melodically it stands out too much, aesthetically it stands out too much. It's gentle, it's sweet on the ears, but who knows? Maybe once I hear this in the midst of her forthcoming album, which I'm very much looking forward to given how much I loved the last, maybe it'll wow me a bit more in that context. But as a single, maybe a bit of a tough sell.

I feel like that's also the case for this new Darkside track as well, "Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)". It doesn't go nearly as hard as the past two singles. This one feels like a spacey, more formless, more abstract jam-type cut, which again, features a combination of rock elements and electronic dance music elements. It's a wee bit psychedelic as well, I would say. It's not too bad. It's a vibe, but not nearly as strong a performance or as fiery groove or instrumentally as the two previous singles, and I'll say that.

All right, best tracks of the week.

They are as follows. Got a bunch for you. Here we go.

First off, Spiritbox, "No Loss, No Love". New single from them. I'm not usually a big Spiritbox guy. Their brand of genty metal pop fusion is not typically my thing. However, I feel like the guitars go hard as hell on this track, and the screamed vocals are absolutely ferocious. Production is fire. Riffs are crazy. Just the performance is one of the most aggressive I have heard on any Spiritbox single ever. So I'm really loving that direction. I'm really liking that sound. I mean, of course, there's probably going to be more variety in the deeper cuts on this forthcoming album. But I will say, as far as a single, this is really the band putting their most kick-ass foot forward.

We have Roc Marciano and DJ Premier teaming up on "Armani Section". For both of them, I'll say nothing too new. They're not pioneering anything crazy or really getting out of their comfort zone. I think what this track shows is just how effective of a marriage these two are creatively. They just fit like a glove. It makes sense. They complement each other so well. It seems like they have a very intimate knowledge of what each other do and have done and what their strengths are artistically. It's just a match. It's just a nice match, so much so that an entire album of collabs from them, or at least an EP, would actually be pretty sick. I feel like I can say that quite confidently. Roc Marciano is a bit more alert. DJ Premier is really on some chill chops and beats and some great DJ cuts on the back end of the track. It's a great collab all around.

We have Panda Bear, who, for me, as far as singles go, is three for three with this forthcoming album. I love quite a few Animal Collective albums, obviously. Not usually huge, huge on solo Panda Bear, but I feel like this latest set of tracks have really been wowing me. I'm liking this new song over here, too, surprisingly, because, again, of what I just said. I don't know, there's almost like a faux-exotic dad pop element to this track that, frankly, I think is really cool. There's almost like a, I don't know, a bit of a La Bamba. If you could have a psychedelic La Bamba on a song, this would be like going in that direction, I would say. Liking the vocals, liking the grooves, the hooks are popping as well. Panda Bear is going off on this track.

We have a new one over here from Maruja who are coming through with, I guess, a jammy improvisational EP/project this year. We have our first taste of it, the opening track. It's not like a crazy formal art rock, jazz fusion type track that the band is usually known for, or at least not a song that has a super formal structure with lead vocals and so on and so forth. It's just a group improv of sorts. There are some really intense swells and highs and lows and a lot of band chemistry on the track for sure. It's cool to hear something like this live and organic and passionate and fiery and seemingly just happening very much in the moment and just coming together so well at the same time. Really looking forward to hearing the band explore of this mode on a forthcoming project, especially if it all comes out as intense and as exciting as this.

We have a remix, Machine Girl, being chopped and flipped and everything else by electronic music pioneer legend, the God himself, Mr. Tom Jenkinson– Squarepusher, remixing "Ass to Mars". He throws together some crazy twists and turns and breaks on this track. It's fiery as hell. It's explosive. I'm loving what he did with this remix. For Machine Girl, this is quite the nod. It's quite the endorsement. Fire stuff all around from both parties, obviously.

We have LISA of Black Pink Fame, who has come through with a big single featuring not only Doja Cat, but also RAYE is involved in the track as well. It's just got a great combination of just not only star power, yes, star power is involved on this track, all the big names and everything. But the vocal harmonies and the production details and the funky grooves and Doja Cat's raspy ass rap verse and everything. It's all fire as hell. It comes together really, really well. Loving what the three of them did on this track. As far as pop goes, it is a banger and a half.

All right, moving on from there. Key Glock pretty much comes through with his usual mix of laidback Southern hip hop beats and very simple flows with his deep, mesmerizing voice. And yet, again, it works. 3 AM in ToKEYo" is the name of the track. It's a very simple Southern hip hop pop, I'll say that.

All right, we have GIVEON, who, again, another artist I'm not usually super huge on, but "TWENTIES", this new track over here, sees him floating with a bit of an old-school throwback soul sound. And his voice just works really well in this context. Beautiful, elegant instrumentation, a lot of conviction on the vocal performance. Gorgeous from front to back, compelling as hell, and I'm really liking it.

All right, next. From there, we got a couple more. Lady Gaga. Abra, Abra, Abra. Gaga is not only back, but she's back, if you know what I'm saying, because she's throwing it to the past on this track, really getting in touch with her very quirky, zany, old-school Gaga roots. This is very like Art Pop and Born this Way era. Yeah, again, it's very theatrical. It is soaring, it is anthemic, and it is catchy as hell, but also slightly weird as well, like we like Gaga to be. Yeah, just like in the energy all around, it seems like she's able to bring back. Very few artists are really truly able to bring back an older sound, an era that is beloved for them, is classic for them, and for them to get back in touch with that, and they sound actually great doing it. She's bringing back the German type electro production as well. Really, all the elements, all the bits of the recipe are coming together, and it's sounding fantastic. This is honestly one of her best singles in a while, and at least for me, that's saying something because I really liked the Chromatica era. For me to enjoy this even more than at least what she was leading with during that, I think is exciting. I'm excited.

All right, a couple more. Doechii has come through, post her Grammys win for a hip hop project of the year. With a bit of a freestyle here, "Nosebleeds", hitting us with a lot of Nicki influence flows and a lot of braggadocio about winning and what would she do if she didn't win? We'll never know. Kanye this, that, and the third. But it's a banger and a half. It's short, it's sweet, really puts her thoughts out there and gives us something else to be excited about in addition to her very well-deserved Grammy win.

Finally, Dan Bejar, A. K. A. Destroyer has come through with another single off of his forthcoming album, Dan's Boogie, "Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World". And once again, with another track, he's really hitting us with classic Destroyer vibes in terms of giving us some whimsical straightforward indie singer-singer-songwriter rock with a lot of wild ranting and raving and spoken word vocals. He's really doing his thing. There's an insane guitar solo on the track as well that is just overpowering and crushing as hell. But yeah, a wild track from Dan. It's great to hear that at this stage in his career, he still got that wild charisma about him, which is just great.

All right, one more, Behemoth. Yes, Black Metal Legends Behemoth are back with a brand new track, which is quite edgy and on the nose, especially as they start spelling, literally, toward the end of the track on the bridge. But with that being said, I feel like this is the most kick-ass lead single they've had since The Satanist era, which is saying something, and I think is great, considering that it's been so long since The Satanist has come out at this point. I feel like we really need a record that goes that hard once again. But "The Shit ov God" is the name of the track. Of course, it's blasphemous, it's wild, it's heavy, it's killer. But yeah, Behemoth smashing it again on a new single, and that is going to be it for the Weekly Track Roundup this week.

Anthony Fantano. Weekly Tracks. Forever.